Amusement apparatus



' May 31, 1933. B. E. MILLS 2,119,340

AMUSEMENT APPARATUS Filed April 1, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet l L ILJ,

y 1938- B. E. MILLS 2,119,340

AMUSEMENT APPARATUS Filed April 1, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 31, 1 938.MlLLs 2,119,340

AMUSEMENT APPARATUS Filed April 1, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented May31, 1938 PATENT OFFICE AMUSEMENT APPARATUS Bert E. Mills,

Novelty Company, Chicago,

of Illinois Oak Park, Ill., assignor to Mills 111., a. corporationApplication April 1, 1935, Serial No. 14,100

17 Claims.

This invention relates to game apparatus and more particularly tocheck-controlled games in which the results of the play are indicated bysuitably placed scoring numerals or by the delivery of tokens, such asmetal disks which can be used as checks in the further play of the game,if desired.

One type of machine in which the invention may be embodied is the nowwell-known pin ball game in which one or more balls are projected uponan inclined board provided with upstanding pins through which aprojected ball makes its way in rolling down said board, and eithercomes to rest in one of a plurality of pockets or seats. all or part ofwhich have scoring or token-delivery values, or rolls down to the lowerend of the board if it misses all said pockets or seats.

In the usual form of game of this character the balls which miss thepockets or seats are lost, so far as score or token delivery isconcerned, and after the ball or set of balls made available byoperation of the check-controlled mechanism has been played, theresults, whether successful or unsuccessful, are definitely known andhave no effect upon further plays.

In accordance with my invention, however, provision is made forrecording and storing up credit for miss plays so that, under certainconditions, a number of misses in succession, or in predetermined order,will result in a score or in the delivery of a certain number of tokens,the arrangement being preferably such that upon each play the playereither scores or obtains an addition to his credit or equity, the latterbeing cancelled only in the event of a scoring or token-delivery play.

Preferably also a visual indicator is employed which serves to informthe player at all times of the amount of his equity obtained as a resultof unsuccessful plays, the efiect of this being that, after a certainnumber of misses, the player will probably attempt to miss the scoringor token delivery pockets or seats to avoid cancellation of the equityand to obtain the score or tokens resulting from a prescribed number ofmisses.

While I have mentioned particularly the pin ball type of game, and haveillustrated my invention as embodied in such a machine, it is to beunderstood that, in its broader aspects, the invention could be used inother types of games, as, for example, in the spinning reel type ofcheck-controlled game, in which the position of rest of the reels,instead of the final position of the ball or balls in a, pin game, wouldcontrol the results of the play. It will be apparent that with eithertype of game the number of tokens delivered may be used instead ofnumerical legends to indicate the score obtained in the operation of thegame.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, which will more fullyappear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in thecombination and arrangement of parts and in the features of constructionhereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that variouschanges in the embodiment of the invention herein disclosed may be madewithin the scope of what is claimed and without departing from thespirit of the invention.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a pin ball table having the improved tokendelivery and miss play recording mechanism embodied therein;

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan View of the rack-up mechanism provided foraccumulating the miss plays and for actuating the token deliverymechanism after passage of a ball through certain board openings apredetermined number of times;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary vertical section taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a, fragmentary horizontal section taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the rack-up mechanism showing theposition assumed by the parts after a ball has passed through a boardopening the prescribed number of times necessary to effect delivery of atoken through the accumulation of miss plays;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5, with the parts in a differentoperative position;

Fig. 7 is a detail plan view of one of the balloperated switches;

Fig. 8 is a transverse section through the balloperated switch, the viewbeing taken on line 8-8 of Fig. 7; and

Figs. 9 and 10 are wiring diagrams illustrating the circuits employed inoperating the recording and token delivery mechanism.

The general construction of pin ball games is well understood in the artand I shall therefore describe only such details thereof as arenecessary for an understanding of the relation of such structure to theparticular type of game for which the invention is adapted.

Referring particularly to Fig. 1, the pin table consists of side framemembers I l and end frame members (not shown) which provide support fora cover l2 which contains a glass panel l3. A

playing boar" ii is positioned in the table frame panel it and, in theembodiment shown, this board is provided with eleven openings, numberedconsecutively from. it; to 27, through which a playing ball may pas"after being projected onto the by a plunger 28. Said plunger is providedwith an exposed hand piece which may be grasped by the operator to pullout the plunger, the latter when released driving a ball along a chute3i which connects with a guide channel the latter directing the ballcompletely around board i l and thence onto the latter against springreturn arm which checks the roll of the ball and directs it in thegeneral direction of openings i5 and it. A sliding board (Figs. '7 andS) is positioned in .ie table frame below playing board i i, said boardbeing provided below openings i525 with elongated openings or slots 33in which are positioned switches of the form shown in Figs. i and 8.Each of these switches consists of a pair of resilient contact arms 1%and 35. The arm is secured to the upper surface of board by rivets 3&3.and the contact 35 is similarly secured to the lower surface of saidboard by rivets It will be apparent that a ball rolling through theopening in board it will come to rest on the upper contact armdepressing the latter downwardly into engagement with lower contact armthereby closing an electric circuit, the purpose of which will presentlybe explained. The ball will rest on contact arm 3'3 until the oporatordepresses a lever which, through a series of link connections (notshown) shifts board a distance sufficient to bring the portions ofslotted openings 33 which are not covered by arms 3 2, 35 below theopenings in playing board M. This movement of board removes the ballfrom its position of rest on contact arm allowing it to fall throughslot from whence it is directed to a manually operable ball-elevatingplunger 39 which carries it through a guide channel which terminates inneck piece the latter directing the ball into guide chute 3i at a pointslightly in advance of plunger The mechanism provided for operatingboard from manually operable lever 33 is not shown, since suitable meansfor accomplishing this func tion is well-known in the art. Thismechanism is coin-controlled, a coin chute (not shown) being providedwhich terminates in a slot plate 52 (Fig. 1) through which a coin may beintroduced to release a suitable coin-controlled latch which normallyprevents operation of lever 38.

From the portion of the apparatus which has been described up to thispoint, it will be apparent that the general plan of the game consists inprojecting a ball onto board i i through the operation of plunger 23.The ball passes onto the playing board at the upper end of the tableafter first making one complete circuit of the latter along guidechannel 43, and then rolls downwardly over board it toward any one ofthe openings i i25. After falling through one of these openings the ballremains at rest on one of the switch arms 3 5 until it is releasedtherefrom as explained through operation of coin-controlled lever 38,after which it may be again projected over the board. It may be addedthat the board openings 55-25 are or may be provided with triangularshaped guide plates M which aid in directing the ball into saidopenings, and a series of pins it may be provided for directing the ballat various angles during the course of its travel from the upper portionof the board to ward openings 26 and 271.

If the ball does not fall through one of openings iE-Zti, it is directedinto either the opening 2% or the opening 2? by a frame plate 45 whichis supported through a marginal flange (Fig. 2) in spaced relation abovethe lower portion of board i i. The under surface of this frame piece isprovided with a rim M, which is arranged to form U-shaped guide channels38 and which direct the ball into openings 26 and ill. respec tively.Ball-operated contact switches and the purpose of which will presentlyappear, are positioned on board i immediately below channels l3 and 39,respectively. These switches are momentarily closed as the ball rollsalon said channels toward openings 26 and 2?. The ball passing througheither the opening 25 or the opening 2? is directed to a trough (notshown) from which it is released upon movement of board 32 by themanually operable coin-controllec lever 38.

In accordance with my invention a token delivery machanism is providedwhich is arranged to deliver one or more tokens to the operator eachtime a ball is directed into one of the openings i525, and is furtherarranged to deliver a number of tokens to the operator if he directs aball a prescribed number of times in succession through either of theopenings 2i. A totalizer device is also provided for giving a record ofthe number of times a ball has passed through one of the openings 25 or2's. This device is arranged to be reset to zero position in the eventthere is an intervening play in which the ball comes through one of theopenings 55-25.

Referring particularly to Figs. 2-6, there is provided on the undersurface of plate iii a bracket 5i in which is journalled for freerotation a shaft the upper end of which projects through plate 6-5 toreceive a pointer 53, said pointer being secured to shaft 52 through acollar An arcuate scale 55 (Fig. 1), consisting of numerals -8 isarranged on the face of plate adjacent the line of movement of the tipportion of pointer The pointer 58 is arranged to be turned in clockwisedirection, viewing Fig. l, by step inovements through one space on thescale 55 each time the playing ball passes through either the opening 26or the opening The mechanism for accomplishing this comprises: a pair ofsolenoids 55 and supported in axial alignment from bracket ill by arms58 and respectively, said solenoids having a common armatu'e 6i; aratchet 62 consisting of spaced ratchet segments and 54 (Fig. 3) fixedlysecured to shaft 52; a rack-up arm 65 pivotally supported on shaft apawl 6 5, pivoted at St to arm 55, for engaging the teeth of 63 ofratchet segments a second pawl 69, pivoted at it to bracket Eli forengaging the teeth "ill of ratchet segment 63; an arm 72 fixedly securedat 73 to armature iii, said arm being provided at its lower end with alaterally projeoting stud 7 3, which extends through a notch formed inthe lower end of rack-up arm 65.

In Fig. 2 the rack-up mechanism is shown with the parts in their normalinoperative position, with solenoids 56, 5? both de-energized. springi8, connected at one end to a lug in carried by rack-up arm 55, and atthe other end to bracket 5!. urges said arm 65 in a clockwise directionviewing Fig. 2, a lateral projection i8, carried by arm 55, engagesagainst bracket st to serve as a stop for limiting the turning of arm 65under the action of spring "i". A second coil spring 19 extendingbetween a lug 8| on ratchet 62 and a fixed point on bracket 5|, urgessaid ratchet 62 in a clockwise direction, viewing Fig. 2. A lug 82projecting from the main body portion of ratchet 62 is provided with ashoulder 83 which engages bracket 5| to limit the clockwise turning ofratchet 62 and shaft 52. under the action of spring 19. A small coilspring 84, extending between arm 65 and one arm of pawl 66, urges thelatter in a counter-clockwise direction, viewing Fig. 2, thus holdingsaid pawl in yield-- ing engagement with the teeth 68 of ratchet segment63. A second coil spring 85, having one end connected at 86 to a fixedpoint on bracket 5| and the other end connected to an arm of pawl 69,urges the latter in a counter-clockwise direction viewing Fig. 5, tohold said pawl in yielding engagement with the teeth 16 of ratchetsegment 64.

As will hereinafter appear, solenoid 56 is energized each time switch 56is closed by passage of a ball into opening 26 and also each time switch69 is closed by passage of a ball into opening 21. The movement of theseveral parts of the rackup mechanism which occur upon each energizationof solenoid 56 will be best understood by comparing Figs. 2 and 5. Assoon as solenoid 56 is energized armature 6| is moved to the right todisplace arm 12 from the position shown in Fig. 2 to the position shownin Fig. 5. This movement of arm 12, through engagement of stud M withone edge of the notch 15, causes a counterclockwise turning of rack-uparm 65 from the position shown in Fig. 2 to the position shown in Fig.5. This movement of arm 65 advances ratchet 62 and shaft 52 one step: ina counterclockwise direction, viewing Fig. 2, through engagement of pawl66 with one of the ratchet teeth 68. As soon as solenoid 56 isde-energized armature 6| and arm 12 are returned under the action ofcoil spring 16, from the position shown in Fig. 5, back to the positionshown in Fig. 2, pawl 66 riding over the teeth 68 during this returnmovement. Ratchet 62 and shaft 52 are prevented from returning to thezero position shown in Fig. 2 through the action of pawl 69 whichengages the teeth 19 of ratchet segment 64 (Fig. 6) thus holding thecomplete ratchet 62 in advanced position. It will thus be apparent thateach time solenoid 56 is energized ratchet 62 and shaft 52 and. pointer53, which turn therewith, are turned in a counter-clockwise (Fig. 2)direction by step movements, thus positioning pointer 53 opposite thenumber on dial 55 which indicates the number of passages of a ballthrough either of the openings 26 or 21. In the particular embodimentshown. scale 55 is provided with eight numbers and. ratchet 62 issimilarly provided with eight teeth, the arrangement being such thatafter eight successive energizations of solenoid 56 ratchet 62 will havebeen turned from the position shown in Fig. 2 to the extreme ad vancedposition shown in Fig. 5. In this advanced position a stud 81 which iscarried by the lug portion 82 of ratchet 62 moves into position to closea switch 88 which, as will hereinafter appear in the descriptions ofFigs. 9 and 10, serves to energize an electric circuit which actuatesthe token delivery mechanism. Switch 88 consists of resilient contactarms 89 and 9| which are secured by bolts 92 to a switch plate 93, thelatter being mounted on the under face of plate 45. It will be evidentfrom Fig. 5 that when ratchet 62 is moved into the last position,corresponding to the position 8 on the dial 55, stud 81 will moveagainst contact arm 89 to effect closing of switch 88.

The purpose of solenoid 51 is to cause return of ratchet 62 and pointer53 to the zero position in the event that the operator directs a ballinto one of the openings l525 before producing eight successiveenergizations of solenoid 56. As will more fully appear in thedescription of Figs. 9 and 10, passage of a ball into any one of theopenings l525 will result in actuation of a token delivery mechanismwhich delivers one or more tokens to the operator. In the particularembodiment shown the delivery mechanism which is operated by closure ofswitch 88 is intended to operate only in the event that there is nointervening passage of a ball through one of the openings |5-25 beforecompletion of the necessary eight passages of a ball through openings26, 21. To produce this result solenoid 51 is arranged to be energizedeach time the operator directs a ball into one of the openings 5-25after the ratchet 62 has been moved from its zero position. A switch 94(Fig. 2) consisting of resilient contact arms 95 and 96 is supported onswitch plate 93, the arm 95 having an extension which is engaged by stud81 to hold the switch open when ratchet 62 is in the zero position shownin Fig. 2. As soon as ratchet 62 moves away from zero position contactarm moves into the circuit closing position shown in Fig. 5. As willhereinafter appear, this preliminary closing of switch 94 places thecircuit which energizes solenoid 51 in condition for closing each time aball passes through one of the openings |5-25 to close one of theswitches associated with said openings. Solenoid 51 effects a return ofratchet 62 and pointer 53 to zero position by pulling armature 6| to theleft from the position shown in Fig. 2 to the position shown in Fig. 6.This movement causes stud 14, carried on the lower end of arm 12, tostrike the lower arm portions 91 and ID!) of pawls 66 and 69,respectively, thus pivoting said pawls in a counter-clockwise directionand removing them from engagement with their respective ratchetsegments. Solenoid 51 remains energized for a short space of timethrough the provision of a wiping contact, which will be hereinafterdescribed, so that pawls 66 and 69 are held from engagement with ratchetsegments 63 and 64, respectively, for an interval of time sufficient toallow spring 19 to return the ratchet 62 and shaft 52 to the zeroposition. After solenoid 5'! is de-energized the system of springs l6,I9, 84 and 85 serve to return armature 6| from the position shown inFig. 6 back to the position shown in Fig. 2. Solenoid 5'! thus makes itimpossible to close switch 88 unless there have been eight consecutiveactuations of the rack-up mechanism without the intervening passage of aball through one of the openings |5 25.

The token delivery mechanism and the control circuits associatedtherewith are illustrated in Figs. 9 and 10. Inasmuch as the mechanicalconstruction of means for dispensing one or more tokens through the useof suitable spring actuated slides is well-known in the art, I have onlymade a diagrammatic showing of this portion of the mechanism and I havelikewise merely given a diagrammatic showing of the coin-controlledmeans for resetting such slides inasmuch as the construction ofmechanism for accomplishing this function is also well understood in theart. In Figs. 9 and 10 I have shown a delivery mechanism consisting offour slides 96, 99 and H16 and NH, which are slidably mounted on a plateI02 above which is supported a series of tubes I03 in which are stackedthe tokens which are dispensed by the slides 98-IIlI. Solenoids I 04,I05, I6 and IIl'I are associated with slides 98- I 0i, respectively, thearmatures I 08 of each of the solenoids being pivotally connected withspring held latch levers I09 which engage over studs II I carried by thedispensing slides to hold the latter in retracted position against thetension of springs I52 which extend between studs III and plate I02. Itwill be evident that when solenoid I64, for example, is energized slide98 will be released and retracted by spring II2 to efiect delivery of atoken. These slides are reset through coin-controlled manually operablelever 38 which operates a reset bar IIS (shown in dotted lines in Fig.10), said bar being provided with studs I I4 which engage against theslides to move them back to latched position when bar I I3 is. movedtoward the left, viewing Fig. 10.

The token delivery slides and associated solenoids for operating thesame may be conveniently mounted in a housing I i5 which is placed inthe front portion of the table frame, the tokens which are deliveredfrom magazines I03 being directed to the operator through a suitabledelivery chute I I6 which projects from a wall of the table frame (Fig.1). In the particular embodiment shown the slides 99, I90 and IGI arearranged to deliver two, four and eight tokens, respectively, upon eachactuation thereof. Slide 98 is arranged to deliver ten tokens each timeit is operated. If desired, these tokens may be of such form as topermit their use in lieu of a coin in coin slot 42.

I shall now describe the circuit connections shown in Figs. 9 and 10whereby the slides 98!0I are operated upon passage of a ball throughopenings I5--2'I. Current is supplied from a battery of dry cells, whichare supported in the table frame, through main line wires iii and H8 toa switch panel II9 having seven terminals I2Il-I26, which connectthrough jumpers IT! with corresponding terminals I29I34, the latterbeing carried on a second switch panel I35. 1 The lower contact arms 35of the switches associated with openings l225, and also one of thecontact arms of each of switches 50 and 50, are connected to main linewire I I? through contacts I20, 528 and a wire I35, the latter alsofeeding switch arms 9! and 990i switches and 94, respectively- Boardopenings I5, I'I, I9, ZI, 23 and 25 are each arranged to operate slide99 which delivers two tokens. This is accomplished through energizationof solenoid I05, and the circuit through this solenoid is traced fromline H? through contacts I29, I28 and line I36 to any one of the switcharms 35 of the group of openings I5, I7, Iii, 2i, 23 and 25, and thencethrough the corresponding upper contact arm 34 to a wire I91 whichconnects through contacts I39 and I22 with a wire I38, the latterleading to the solenoid I05, the return from the latter being through awire I39 which connects through a switch MI and a wire I42 with theother side of the main line, H8.

The switches associated with the group of openings I0, 20, 22 aredesigned to operate delivery slide III which dispenses four tokens uponeach energization of solenoid I95. The circuit through this solenoid istraced from line wire II"I through contacts I20, I28 and wire I36 tolower switch arms 35, and thence from any one of the upper switch arms34 to a wire I43 which connects through terminals I3I and IE3 with awire I44, the latter connecting with solenoid I00, the return beingthrough wire I 39, switch I4I, and wire I42, to the other side of theline, II8.

The switch associated with opening 24 is arranged to operate slide 98which delivers ten tokens upon each energization of solenoid I94. Thiscircuit is traced from main line H? through terminals I20, I28 and lineI36 to switch arm 35, and thence through upper switch arm 34 and a wireI45 to terminal I29 which connects through terminal I2I with a wire I45,the latter leading to solenoid I04, the return from said solenoid beingthrough wire I39, switch MI, and wire I42, to the opposite main linewire IIB.

Slide IIiI, which delivers eight tokens upon each energization ofsolenoid I07, is arranged to be operated by two independent circuits.The first of these circuits is through the ball-actuated switchassociated with board opening Iii. This circuit is traced from main linewire I I? through terminals I20, I28, and wire I36, to switch arm 35,and thence from switch arm 34 through a wire I41 which connects throughterminals I32 and I24 with a wire I48, the latter leading to solenoidI0'I, the return from this solenoid being through wire I38, switch MI,and wire I42 to the other side of the main line, H8. Slide IGI will bethus operated each time a ball is placed in board opening IE to delivereight tokens. The slide IOI is also arranged to be operated upon theclosing of switch 88 which takes place, as previously explained, afterthe rack-up mechanism has been actuated eight successive times by thepassage of a ball through either opening 26 or opening 2?. This circuitthrough switch S8 is traced from main line wire I I? through terminalsI20, I28 and wire I36, to switch arm 9i and thence through switch arm 89and a wire I49 to terminal I32, which, as explained, connects throughterminal I24 and wire I48 to solenoid I57. In other words, the switchassociated with opening I6, and switch 88 which is closed by the rack-upmechanism, are in parallel so that the closing of either energizessolenoid I0? inde pendently of the other, there being thus two distincttypes of play which may result in the operation of the eight token slideIEII.

As previously explained solenoid 56 is energized to actuate the rack-upmechanism each time a ball passes into either the opening 26 or theopening 27 to close either the switch 50 or the switch 60. The circuitthrough solenoid 56 is traced from main line wire II! and terminals I20,I28 to wire I36 which feeds the lower contact arms of switches 50, 60,and from either of the latter the circuit is traced through a wire I5!to solenoid 56, from which the return is carried through a wire I52 andswitch terminals I33, I25 to main line Wire II8. Closure of the switchassociated with either of the openings 26 or 21 will thus energizesolenoid 56 to produce movement of ratchet 82 and pointer 53 one stepaway from zero position. After eight consecutive energizations ofsolenoid 56 have been eifected, switch 88 is closed by ratchet 52 toeffect operation of slide IIII.

The circuit through solenoid 5? is so arranged as to effect energizationof the latter each time one of the slides 98-IOI is operated. Aspreviously explained, solenoid 57 operates to return ratchet 62 to zeroposition after the latter has been displaced from zero position throughthe operation of solenoid 56. As soon as ratchet 52 is moved one stepaway from zero position, switch 94 is closed through removal of stud 8'!from enactive stroke.

gagement with the extended portion 90 of switch arm 95. This circuitthrough solenoid 51 is traced from main line wire II1, terminals I26,I28 to wire I36, which connects with switch arm 96, from which point thecircuit is carried through switch arm 9-3 and a wire I53 to solenoid 51which is connected through a wire I54 with terminal $34, the latterconnecting with terminal I26. A wire I55 connects terminai 126 withplate E02 which supports slides 88IOI, each of the latter being inelectrical contact with plate I02. Each of the slides 98-IBI is providedwith a switch point I56 which, upon the delivery stroke of the slide,moves into wiping engagement with a switch arm I51. Each of arms i5?connects through a common return wire 58 with wire I42 which leads tomain line wire IIB. It will be apparent that after preliminary closingof switch 94 movement of any one of the delivery slides 98-IOI throughan active stroke will complete the circuit through solenoid 51 by reasonof the closure of one of the switches I56, I51. It will be noted fromFig. 10 that the switch points I56 will remain engagement with switcharms 551 for a suificient length of time to keep solenoid 51 energizeduntil ratchet 62 is returned to the zero position. This circuitarrangement thus requires eight consecutive movements of ratchet 62 andpointer 53 away from the zero position to effect closing of switch 85.If there is an intervening actuation of any one of the delivery siides98lll, ratchet 62 and pointer 53 are returned to zero position, and willagain require eight consecutive movements to eiiect closure of switch Inorder to prevent the energizing circuit from remaining closed afteroperation of one of the delivery slides and before removal of the ballfrom its circuit closing position on one of the switch arms 34, Iprovide a circuit breaking device for opening switch MI each time one ofthe slides 98--IOI is moved through a delivering stroke. Any convenientform of switch breaking device may be used. In the embodiment shown Iprovide an arm I59 (Fig. 1G), pivoted at IBI to a suitable framesupport, and provided with spaced laterally projecting posts I62 whichare positioned to be engaged by slides es-un upon movement of any one ofthe latter through an A coil spring E63 normally holds pivoted arm I58in the position shown in Fig. 10 in which position the contacts ofswitch Mi are closed. Movement of any one of the slides 98IUI intoengagement with one of the posts $62 will serve to open switch I4! bypivoting arm i5$l into open circuit position. Opening of switch M!de-energizes each of solenoids Hi l-I91, thus preventing the circuitsassociated with openings 15-25 from remaining closed after a ball hasbeen directed into one of said openings and before it has been removedby a subsequent coin actuation of the machine in the manner previouslyexplained.

As shown in Fig. 1, the openings I5--25 may be provided with numeralsidentifying each opening with the number of tokens delivered when a ballis placed therein. When the game is used without the token deliverymechanism these numerals may be used to calculate the score made by theoperator, in which case, for example, a prescribed number of miss playsaccumulated on scale 55 could be considered as having a certain scoringvalue which would be taken into account, along with the values obtainedon the scoring plays, in computing the final score.

The manner of playing the game may be briefly described as follows:assuming pointer 53 is in the zero position, the operator firstintroduces a suitable coin into coin slot 42, whereupon lever 38 may beoperated to release the ball from board 32. By pushing inwardly onplunger 39 the ball thus released is positioned in front of plunger 28from which point it is projected over board I4. If the ball happens toroll into one of the openings I5-25 it operates one of the tokendelivery slides 88-IOI to deliver two or more tokens depending upon theparticular opening into which the ball falls. If the ball fails to passinto one of the openings I5-25 it rolls into either the opening 26 orthe opening 21 to produce one energization of solenoid 56 which resultsin movement of pointer 53 one step in a clockwise direction, viewingFig. 1. Pointer 53 in this position indicates to the operator that hehas accomplished one of the necessary eight plays which are required top crate the eight token delivery slide IDI.

Play of the game is repeated in this manner, the number of tokensdelivered depending upon the particular openings into which the ball isdirected upon the successive plays. If there are eight consecutive playsin which the operator fails to put the ball into one of the openingsI25, pointer 53 will be moved opposite the numeral 8 on scale 55 andupon the eighth play, which brings pointer 53 to that position, switch88 will be closed by the rack-up mechanism to efiect actuation of theeight token slide IOI. If, however, the operator happens to place a ballin one of the openings I525 before pointer 53 has reached its eighthposition, said pointer, together with ratchet 62, will be returned tozero position through the operation of solenoid 51 which is energizedeach time one of the slides 98I!lI operates. Any partial accumulation ofcredit plays on the scale 55 is thus rendered ineffective by theintervening passage of a ball through one of the openings I5-25.However, the operator is at all times apprised of the number of playswhich are still necessary to operate the eight token slide IflI throughpassages of a ball through either the opening 26 or the opening 21.

The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness ofunderstanding only, and no unnecessary limitations should be understoodtherefrom, but the appended claims should be construed as broadly aspermissible in view of the prior art.

What I regard as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A check-controlled game comprising an actuator, a member adapted tobe set in motion thereby and to come to rest at one of a number ofpossible positions, token delivery mechanism, means controlled by saidmember when at certain of said positions for. operating said deliverymechanism, a totalizer, means controlled by said member when at otherpositions for operating said totalizer, and means controlled by thetotalizer, after it has been operated a predetermined number of times inimmediate succession, for operating said token delivery mechanism.

2. A check controlled game comprising an actuator, a member adapted tobe set in motion thereby and to come to rest at one of a number ofpossible positions, token delivery mechanism, means controlled by saidmember when at certain of said positions for operating said deliverymechanism, a totalizer, means controlled by said member when at otherpositions for operating said totalizer, means controlled by thetotalizer, after it has been operated a predetermined number of times,for operating said token delivery mechanism, and means operable byactuation of said delivery mechanism for restoring said totalizer toinitial position.

3. A check-controlled game comprising an actuator, a member adapted tobe set in motion thereby and to come to rest at one of a number ofpossible positions, token delivery mechanism, means controlled by saidmember when at certain of said positions for operating said deliverymechanism, a ratchet device, means controlled by said member when atother positions for operating said ratchet device, means controlled bythe ratchet device after it has been operated a predetermined number oftimes in immediate succession for operating said token deliverymechanism, and a dial indicator movable by said device for indicatingthe number of times the latter has been operated without an interveningoperation of said delivery mechanism.

4. A check-controlled game comprising an actuator, a member adapted tobe set in motion thereby and to come to rest at one of a number ofpossible positions, token delivery mechanism, means controlled by saidmember when at certain of said positions for operating said deliverymechanism, a totalizer, means controlled by said member when at otherpositions for operating said totalizer, and means controlled by thetotalizer, after it has been operated a predetermined number of timessuccessively, for operating said token delivery mechanism.

5. In an amusement apparatus, the combination with a check-controlledplaying mechanism, including a playing element adapted to be moved toone of a plurality of possible positions, of means for delivering atoken to the operator upon each play which results in movement of saidelement to certain of said positions, and means for operating said.delivery means after a predetermined number of consecutive plays each ofwhich effects movement of said element to certain of the other positionsto which the same may be moved.

6. In a pin ball game, the combination with a playing board havingopenings therein for receiving a ball projected over the surface of theboard and check-controlled means for returning a played ball to positionfor another projection over the board, of means for delivering a tokento the operator upon each passage of a ball into certain ol saidopenings, and means for operating said delivery means after apredetermined number of passages of a ball into certain of the otheropenings without the intervening passage of a ball into one of saidfirst mentioned openings.

'7. In a pin ball game, the combination with a playing board havingopenings therein for receiving a ball projected over the surface of theboard and check-controlled means for returning a played ball to positionfor another projection over the board, of means for delivering a tokento the operator upon each passage of a ball into certain of saidopenings, means for operating said delivery means after a predeterminednumber of passages of a ball into certain of the other openings withoutthe intervening passage of a ball into one of said first mentionedopenings, and a totalizer device for indicating, after any particularplay, the number of plays still required to result in actuation of saiddelivery means by consecutive passages of a ball into said lastmentioned openings,

8. A game apparatus comprising a board having a plurality of pocketstherein, means for pro jecting a ball onto said board and into one oranother of said pockets, a check-dispensing mechanism, means actuated bythe ball when it onters certain of said pockets for operating saidcheck-dispensing mechanism to cause the same to dispense a predeterminednumber of checks, which may vary according to the pocket in which theball is placed, check-controlled means for holding the bali in thepocket in which it comes to rest and for releasing it for return to theprojecting means, one or more other pockets being positioned to receivea played ball if it misses the previously described pockets, a devicemovable step by step through a series of positions and adapted to beadvanced one step each time a ball enters said last-identified pocket orpockets, said device causing operation of said dispensing mechanism tocause the same to dispense a prcdetermined number of checks after thedevice been advanced a certain number of steps, and means operated by aball entering one or another of said first-described pockets before saiddevice caused actuation of said dispensing mechanism for returning thedevice to its Original position, thereby cancelling the advance presvicusly made toward the position in which the device causes operation ofthe dispensing mechanism.

ii. A checlecontrolled game, comprising an actuator, a member adapted tobe set in motion thereby and to come to rest at one of a number ofpossible positions, some of which are scoring positions, and at leastone of which is a non orin-g position, means controlled by said memherwhen it stops at a scoring position, for indicating a primary scoringvalue, means controlled by said member when it stops at a non-scoringposition, for totalizing non-scoring plays, so as to accumulate anequity toward a secondary score, means for causing such secondary scoreto be indicated when a predetermined totai of consecutive non-scoringplays has been totalized, and for simultaneously resetting saidtotalizing means back to zero, and for resetting said totalizing meansback to zero and cancelling said equity when said element stops at ascoring position.

10. A check-controlled game, comprising an actuator, a member adapted tobe set in motion thereby and to come to rest at one of a number ofpossible positions, some of which are scoring positions, and at leastone of which is a nonscoring position, means controlled by said memberwhen it stops at a scoring position, for indicating a scoring value,means controlled by said member when it stops at a non-scoring positionfor totalizing non-scoring plays without indicating a scoring value,means controlled by said totalizing means when a given total ofnon-scoring plays has been totalized, for indicating a scoring value,and means for resetting said totalizing means back to starting positionupon either of the aforesaid indications of scoring value.

11. A check-controlled game, comprising an actuator, a dispenser, amember adapted to be set in motion by said actuator and to come to restat one of a number of possible positions, some of which are scoringpositions, and at least one of which is a non-scoring position, meanscontrolled by said member when it stops at a scoring position foractuating said dispenser, means controlled by said member when it stopsat a non-scoring position for totalizing consecutive non-scoring plays,means controlled by said totalizing means when a given total ofnon-scoring plays has been totalized, for actuating said dispenser, andmeans for setting said totalizing means back to starting position uponeither of the aforesaid actuations of the dispensing means.

12. A check-controlled game, comprising an actuator, a dispenser, amember adapted to be set in motion by said actuator and to come to restat one of a number of possible positions, some of which are scoringpositions, and at least one of which is a non-scoring position, meanscontrolled by said member when it stops at a scoring position foractuating said dispenser to effect a delivery therefrom, a deviceadapted to be advanced step by step from an initial position to aposition in which it actuates said dispenser independently of theaforesaid actuating means, means controlled by said member when in anonscoring position, for advancing said device, and means for settingsaid device back to its initial position upon either of the aforesaidactuations of the dispenser.

13. In a pin ball game, the combination of a playing board having aplurality of openings therein for receiving a ball projected over thesurface of the board, some of said openings being scoring openings, andat least one of said openings being non-scoring, a device for totalizingthe passage of balls into said non-scoring opening without indicating ascore, and means for indicating a score each time a ball enters ascoring opening, said means being additionally operated to indicate ascore, by said device when the latter has totalized a predeterminednumber of consecutive non-scoring plays.

14. In a pin ball game, the combination of a playing board having aplurality of openings therein for receiving a ball projected over thesurface of the board, some of said openings being scoring openings, andat least one of said openings being non-scoring, a device for totalizingthe passage of balls into said non-scoring opening without indicating ascore, a dispenser, means for operating said dispenser each time a ballenters a scoring opening, and means for operating said dispenser whensaid device has totalized a predetermined nLunber of non-scoring plays.

15. In a pin ball game, the combination of a playing board having aplurality of openings therein for receiving a ball projected over thesurface of the board, some of said openings being scoring openings, andat least one of said openings being non-scoring, a device for totalizingthe passage of balls into said non-scoring opening without indicating ascore, and means for indicating a score each time a ball enters ascoring opening, said device comprising a ratchet, means for advancingsaid ratchet each time a ball enters said non-scoring opening, and anindicator movable by said ratchet for indicating the number of times thelatter has been actuated.

16. In a pin ball game, the combination of a playing board having aplurality of openings therein for receiving a ball projected over thesurface of the board, some of said openings being scoring openings, andat least one of said openings being non-scoring, a device for totalizingthe passage of balls into said non-scoring opening without indicating ascore, means for indicating a score each time a ball enters a scoringopening, said means being additionally operated to indicate a score, bysaid device when the latter has totalized a predetermined number ofnon-scoring plays, and means operated upon each indication of a score,for setting said device back to initial position.

17. In a check-controlled game having a member adapted to be set inmotion and to come to rest at one of a number of possible positions,some of which are scoring positions and at least one of which is anon-scoring position, a ratchet, an advancing pawl and a holding pawlfor said ratchet, electromagnetic means, controlled by said member whenin a scoring position, for driving said advancing pawl so as to advancesaid ratchet one step, means resiliently urging said ratchet toward itsinitial position, electromagnetic means, controlled by said member whenin a non-scoring position, for releasing both of said pawls fromengagement with the ratchet and allowing the latter to return to itsinitial position, a check dispenser, electromagnetic means for actuatingsaid dispenser, means controlled by said member when in a scoringposition, for energizing said dispenser-actuating means, and meansincluding a switch adapted to be engaged by said ratchet when the latterhas moved a predetermined number of steps and thereby closed so as toindependently energize said dispenser-actuating means.

BERT E. MILLS.

